Why it works: Peach and strawberry match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 228 recipes mention both. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 4Ingredients
Contains: soy, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Place the chopped watermelon, peaches, shallot and basil leaves in a blender.
Add the salt, Sriracha, strawberry balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce.
Blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes until completely smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Taste and adjust the salt if needed, then blend briefly once more.
Transfer to a covered container and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving cold.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Peach + strawberrytop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together228 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Peach + basiltop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together61 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Strawberry + vinegartop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together298 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Basil + strawberrytop 6% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together83 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Shallot + vinegartop 6% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together2,282 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the sriracha
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peach, shallot, basil, strawberry, vinegar, sauce):
- Tarragonbetter flavor fit
- Peppermintbetter flavor fit
- Gingerbetter flavor fit
- Srirachathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against peach, shallot, basil, strawberry, vinegar, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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